Albert

Using your iPod as an external hard drive on a Windows computer

            Since an iPod is basically a computer hard drive with software that facilitates music playback, it can also act as a USB hard drive that you can use to back up your files.   To do this, plug your iPod in to the USB port of your computer.  (This will also charge its battery.)   Open My Computer and look for a “removable disk” device, which might be called “MyPod.”  Right-click on it, and go to Properties to see how full it is already.

            To view your iPod’s file system and copy files to it, open My Computer and double-click on the MyPod icon (or whatever yours is called.)  DON’T delete any files or folders that you don’t recognize, especially those that appear in a lighter color or start with a dot in their file name.  These are the iPod’s system files, and deleting them will render your iPod unusable.  You will not see nor can you manipulate your songs this way; they must be managed by iTunes software.

            What you can do is create folders in which you can store “regular” documents like Word files, Excel spreadsheets, or digital photos.  Create folders as you would on any other drive: Right-click in an open space, then click New, then Folder.  Name your folder.  Now you can drag files to it from your computer.  You cannot manage these files through the iPod interface; they must be managed using your computer with the iPod attached.

            Always remember to stop your iPod’s USB connection before you disconnect it from your computer.

            General warning:  If you get a message when you connect your iPod asking you “Would you like to erase your files and sync your iPod to this computer?” say NO!  That will erase all of your existing music, which is certainly NOT what you want to do.